Ask Me To Stay
by Newgirl78
Summary: Two months after moving into the loft, Abby decides to head back to Portland, leaving Nick and Jess with a big decision to make.


Leaning against the loft door, Jess let out a huge sigh of relief. The unusual quiet surrounding her was almost surreal. She loved her sister, she really did, but the past two months had been absolute chaos in the loft with her staying here. Abby had completely turned all their lives upside down, and her six week fling with Schmidt had been more than Jess could stomach, especially when their "activities" had been in Jess' old room. Although she was glad that Abby had decided to head back to Portland, it still felt a little strange now that she was gone.

Walking to her old room, Jess stopped in the doorway and stared into the now bare space. It was so strange to see her room look like this, as if it wasn't even hers anymore. Biting her lip, she turned her head and glanced into Nick's room across the hall, where she had spent so much of her time the past 2 months. It felt like _that_ was where she belonged now, but shouldn't she be moving back over here? She _should_ right? She couldn't continue to intrude on Nick's space when there was a perfectly good, empty room across the hall. Jess felt her heart sink in her chest.

She suddenly felt very...lonely.

Walking to her bed, she sat down on the bare mattress. Looking around with a deep breath, she realized how much this felt like someone else's space now. The walls still had a few of her framed pictures on them, and her bed and some of her other random furniture was here. But nothing that made it feel like _her _was here. She hadn't realized how, over the past two months, she had managed to slowly move all of her things to Nick's room. It hadn't been without problems, but it had forced both of them to go through all the stuff they had accumulated over the years, and in the process, they had somehow meshed all of their things into Nick one tiny room. It had been cramped at times, but it felt like a real _home_. Sighing, she tried to think of any good reason why she could stay over there with him indefinitely, only none of the excuses in her head made sense. They were both still paying rent and things _were _cramped over there. There was simply no reason for her to logically stay in his room while this one sat here empty.

She had been sitting there for a few minutes when the loft door shut and Nick ran down the hall breathless.

"Did I miss her?" He stopped in Jess' doorway, leaning against the frame to catch his breath. "Jess, I'm so sorry. I got held up at work and I..."

He stopped talking when Jess glanced up at him and he slowly walked to the bed and sat down next to her.

"Hey, you okay?" He took her hand in his and bumped against her shoulder. "Sorry I didn't get to say goodbye."

"It's fine." She shook her head and gave a little laugh. "She was actually on _time_ for her flight for once. Her cab came a few minutes ago."

Nick smiled. "Miss her?"

"Maybe." She gave him a smirk.

Nick laughed loudly and wrapped his arm around her, kissing her forehead. "Come on, I'll take ya out to dinner Roomie."

He got up off the bed and started walking out the door, when he stopped suddenly and turned around. Jess had remained quiet and she was still sitting on the bed. She had a confused look on her face and she was running her fingers over the bare mattress. Nick frowned and stared down at her for a second before slowly making his way back over to her. Placing his finger under her chin, he coaxed her eyes upward.

"She'll be back to visit before you know it."

Jess managed a weak smile. Watching Nick raise his eyebrows at her, she laughed as she accepted his outstretched hand and let him pull her to his chest. Giving her a tight hug, Nick kissed her cheek.

"Let's go celebrate _not_ listening to Schmidt have sex across the hall anymore."

She grimaced. "Please remind me to burn that mattress."

* * *

When they got back from dinner, Jess took off her coat and started to walk toward the bedroom hallway. She hadn't said much at dinner and Nick was starting to get concerned. At first, he had assumed it was because she didn't want to admit she already missed her sister, but he was starting to think it was more than that.

"Jess, you sure you're okay? You've been really quiet."

"Yeah." She flipped her hand in the air without turning around. "My contacts are bothering me, I'll be right back." She started down the hallway, pausing for a moment to glance into her empty room, before walking briskly past it and down the hall into the bathroom.

He watched her disappear down the hallway and glanced into Jess' room. It definitely would be strange not to have Abby here anymore, but at least it seemed like Jess had finally mended her relationship with her, something he knew was really important to Jess.

Making his way into his room, he took off his coat and threw it over the desk chair. Pulling off his flannel and jeans, he dropped them on the floor and started to walk around the bed. With a shake of his head, he let out a laugh and turned back around. Things had certainly changed since they had both been living here, and he shook his head again with a smirk as he bent down to pick up his dirty clothes. Walking them over to the closet, he dumped them in the laundry basket on the floor, and couldn't help feeling proud and satisfied that he had actually _remembered _to clean up after himself for a change. It may have been an adjustment, but he was finally getting the hang of living with Jess.

It had all been worth it though, because taking this step in their relationship had felt so right, so natural. He was forever grateful to Abby for helping him make a move that probably would have taken him much longer to make on his own. He smiled, making his way toward the other side of the room.

* * *

Jess stopped dead in her tracks in Nick's doorway, just as she saw him trip over the pair of flats that she had kicked off at the bottom of the bed that morning.

"Damn it." He stumbled forward to catch himself on the edge of the bed and grumbled.

Jess winced and ran into the room. Picking up the shoes quickly, she tossed them towards the closet. "Nick, I'm so sorry."

Nick just turned and laughed, sitting down on the bed. "It's fine. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Tomorrow, I ..." Jess swallowed hard, twisting her hands nervously as she stood by the end of the bed. "I'll get as much out as I can."

He turned to her with a confused look on his face. "What?"

"My stuff." Jess walked over to Nick's desk, randomly pulling her papers and notepads into a pile. "I'll get all this stuff out and..." Her voice trailed off and Nick jumped off the bed. As she was frantically sorting through the items on the desk, Nick grabbed her wrist and she froze.

"Jess, what are you talking about?"

She blinked back tears and stood still. "There's no reason to take up all this space in here anymore, so I...I'll start moving it back tomorrow."

Nick dropped her hand and took a step backwards. Move back to her room? He hadn't even considered this to be a possibility. He'd gotten so used to this new arrangement over the past two months, that it never occurred to him that it would _end_. He choked on his words and his voice got quiet.

"You're leaving?"

Jess turned her head and brushed her hand across her cheek. "Of course."

Nick felt his heart sink and started to feel sick to his stomach. He turned around, afraid she would see how upset he was and walked over to his side of the bed. "Okay. Right. Yeah, that makes sense." Pulling back her floral bedspread, he slid into bed and grabbed his laptop off the nightstand, opening it quickly and keeping his eyes focused on the screen.

Jess stared at him for a few minutes, waiting for him to glance up at her, but he stubbornly remained occupied with typing. Sighing, Jess turned back around towards the desk and pretended to continue organizing her things. She felt the tears begin to run down her cheeks and she tried to cry in silence. Taking a deep breath, it finally became too much for her and she ran for the door.

"I'm going to ..." She mumbled something about tea, or food, or something else she couldn't remember as she ran out the door toward the kitchen.

Nick closed his eyes, flopping his head back against the cold wall and pushed the laptop to the side. Why didn't she want to stay in here with him? He thought they had taken the next step in their relationship, but now she wanted to go back to living in separate rooms after all this time being together. Nick could feel the anger boiling up inside him and then he stopped. Glancing over at his desk, he squinted and realized that Jess hadn't moved a single thing. Her pile of school work was in the same spot it had been for days. Then his eyes drifted to the closet where, just this morning, he had started an argument because she had moved all his flannel shirts to one end all together, so they'd each be able to find their clothes more easily. A method, after letting his frustration subside, actually made better sense than what he had been doing mixing everything together like he'd always done.

A realization was finally hitting him. When had he _asked_ her to stay? When in all this had he actually told her that he _loved_ having her in here with him. That sharing this room with her, _their_ room, had felt amazing. He glanced down at the shoes Jess had thrown in the closet only minutes ago, the ones he had cursed at and tripped over seconds before she had returned from the bathroom.

Without another thought, he threw back the covers and jumped across the bed. Running out of the room, he glanced around the living room looking for Jess, until he finally found her in the kitchen. Her back was turned toward him at the sink.

"It's not my room."

Jess turned around startled, a confused look on her face. Her hand was suspended above her mug holding a tea bag and as he stepped closer, he noticed how puffy and red her eyes were from behind her glasses.

"What?"

"My room." Jess blinked and he gasped for air before he continued. "I want it to be _our_ room."

Jess shook her head slowly, still confused. "Abby's gone, I can't..."

"Jess, STOP."

Jess' head snapped back and she lowered her arms, taking a step forward to place her mug on the island counter. Nick slid onto the stool across from her and grabbed her hand.

"I don't want you to move out."

"Nick..."

"No, listen to what I'm saying. I don't want you to leave. I want to live with you. In my room." His voice grew softer. "Our room."

Jess took a deep breath and shook her head. "It doesn't make sense, it..."

"Wait," Nick could feel his chest tighten and his voice cracked with disappointment, barely audible. "Do you _want_ to move out?" He felt himself holding his breath and watched Jess slowly begin to shake her head. After a few moments, he could see the corners of Jess' mouth slowly rise.

"You don't want me to leave?"

"NO!" The firmness in his voice startled both of them and they laughed. Sliding off his stool, he grabbed Jess around the waist and pulled her close. "You're crazy if.." He kissed one cheek. "you think..." Then the other. "I'd let you go..." Then a soft, quick peck on the lips. "that easily."

Releasing all her pent up emotions, Jess threw her arms around his neck and tears started to fall. "But I take up so much space. And my stuff is mixed with all of yours, and..."

Nick pulled her back and his hands found their way to the sides of her face, his thumbs gently rubbing her tears away. "_Our_ stuff Jess. So just stop, okay?" He smiled and she let out a quick laugh. Nodding vigorously, she laid her head on his chest and hugged him tightly. "You crazy woman..."

Jess laughed again and leaned back, shaking her head. After a moment, her face fell again. "But what does this...what do we...and my room."

Nick bent down to her level to catch her gaze and smiled. "It means that I love you and I'm ready to take this next step and you're going to stop calling it MY room. Got it?"

A slow smile came back across her face. "Got it, Miller."

Nick's face became serious and he took her hands in his, pulling them up to his chest. "I love you and the past two months with you..." He took a deep breath. "I don't want to go back to the way things were. I want more."

She whispered softly. "So do I."

"Good."

Nick smiled and leaned down to press his lips firmly to hers. Chasing his lips, she let go of his hands and clung to his chest, feeling tears still stinging her eyelids. Finally she pulled away and laid her head down, sliding her arms around his waist in a tight hug. Releasing all the emotion of the day, she started to cry and Nick squeezed her tightly in confusion. Wanting to be there for her, he simply held her as her sobs slowly subsided and he sat down on one of the stools, staring at her concerned. She took a deep breath and slowly raised her head, eyes red behind her glasses. He watched her carefully, tucking her hair behind her ears and wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"I'm here, Jess."

"I know, it's just..." Nodding, she took a deep breath. Closing her eyes briefly, she let out a small, forced laugh and then frowned again. "It's a been a _long _couple of months."

Squinting, Nick frowned. "I know."

"I miss her." Jess' whispered with a raw emotion that Nick felt to his core. He knew. He knew what this felt like. He knew what it was like to have family breeze into your life, turn your world upside down, and then leave with only a moment's notice.

"I know you do."

"She's completely crazy." Jess started to laugh and Nick just smiled. "She stole my room, I had to bail her out of jail, she thought she was in love with Schmidt..."

Nick shook his head, smiling as he squeezed Jess' hands tightly. He watched her start to relax, and then her face turn into a frown once again.

"But," She took a deep breath. "it's the closest we've ever been, and...I'm going to miss her."

Pulling her towards him, Nick wrapped his arms around her as she settled between his legs to put her head on his shoulder. Nestling into his neck, she closed her eyes.

He paused for a moment, holding her tightly before whispering softly in her ear. "She's welcome here any time."

Lifting her head, Jess' watery eyes searched his, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Really?"

"Absolutely." He kissed her cheek. "You can't choose your family, but you can be there for them when they need ya."

Swallowing hard, Jess studied Nick's face and wiped her fingers under one eye and then the other. She sniffled and gave Nick a kiss, leaning into the inside of his leg. "I'm sorry you have to put up with my crazy family."

"Are you kidding? Are you forgetting good 'ol Walt Miller? My brother, Jamie? I should be apologizing to _you_."

Jess laughed, biting her lip. "I fell in love with YOU, not your family."

"Right back at ya, beautiful." Raising his eyebrows, Nick smiled. Turning her to face him, he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "I think we've done a pretty good job making all this work the past two months, don't you?"

Winding her arms around his neck, she smiled. "Yeah."

With one hand firmly on her waist, he brought his other to her face, caressing her cheek with his thumb. "And now you're stuck with me, because I'm pretty sure living with you is hard to beat."

"Is that so?"

"Yep." He pulled her closer. "And I'm not letting you go."

"Good." She kissed his cheek, then his lips. "Because I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
